The Internet comprises a plurality of computers coupled to individually owned and operated networks and organizations, each of which cooperates with other networks to direct and exchange traffic among the computers. The computers typically communicate over the networks by exchanging discrete frames or packets of data according to predefined procedures and standards for protocols. The procedures and standards used for communication over the Internet are provided in, e.g., requests for comments that are agreed upon by Internet users and organizations. For example, the World Wide Web Consortium develops standards for the evolution of a fast growing part of the Internet, the World Wide Web (the “Web”). Common protocols used for exchanging data over the Internet include the File Transfer protocol (FTP), Transmission Control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), and the Hypertext Transfer protocol (HTTP).
The Internet generally operates according to a client/server model of information delivery that allows many client computers or consumers to access similar applications in files stored on a server computer. In this model, a consumer “connects” to a server on which information resides to thereby request the services of the server. These services may involve searching for information in a database and delivering the information in the form of a “web page”. Using the TCP/IP protocol, the consumer may send HTTP requests to the server requesting a particular web page or the performance of a database query. In either instance, the request is broken into packets that are sent over the Internet's TCP/IP communication infrastructure to the server. In an embodiment wherein a plurality of servers cooperate to form a “web site”, web server software executing on the servers enables the web site to locate the requested page or perform the requested search and return the results to the consumer.
To access a web site for purposes of requesting a service, a consumer of that service typically generates and issues packets to an online service or an Internet service provider (ISP). From the ISP, the packets travel through levels of communication links, computer platforms and carrier networks before they reach their final destination. These computer platforms may comprise intermediate stations, such as hubs, routers and switches, configured to process the packets and forward them over carrier networks to their proper destinations. Networks in a particular geographic area may be connected into a large regional network and regional networks may be further interconnected via high-speed backbone networks (“Internet backbones”). The intermediate stations direct data traffic over these carrier networks by processing the packets to determine where the data is headed. Based on the destination of the data, the packet is routed in a most efficient manner, generally to another intermediate station that, in turn, sends the packet to a next station.
The consumer typically issues the packets by either dialing into the online service or ISP over a telephone line or through an Internet service, such as “last mile broadband access”. Last mile broadband access refers to technologies, such as cable modems, digital subscriber line and fixed wireless services, that provide consumers with high bandwidth access to the carrier networks of the Internet. For example, whereas conventional telephone lines may transmit data at e.g., 56 kilobits per second (Kbps), leased lines, such as T1 lines, may cooperate with last mile broadband access technologies to carry data at higher rates, such as 1.544 megabits per second (Mbps). Higher-speed links, such as T3 links, can transport data at rates up to 44.746 Mbps.
The convergence of last mile broadband access, digital storage media, and multimedia encoding and compression technologies has resulted in the ability to efficiently deliver digital content via the Internet. As used herein, digital content includes premium entertainment content such as digital audio and video data files. Despite the use of sophisticated encryption techniques and legal action, efforts to combat illegal copying of premium entertainment content over the Internet have proven ineffective. In fact, digital copying of copyrighted audio material from the Internet has become an increasingly worrying practice to the music industry.
For video, a similar situation may arise when multimedia compression and higher network bandwidths become widespread, and as digital storage prices continue to drop. An international standard for video compression that enables delivery of interactive multimedia content over the Internet is MPEG-4 or MP4. MP4 is a CODEC software algorithm that performs compression (and decompression) of multimedia data, such as digital video or movies, to as little as 10 percent of its original size with generally imperceptible losses in quality. For example MP4 may used to compress a feature length, 6 gigabyte (GB) digital movie to a single, 650 megabyte (MB) compact disc (CD) at VHS resolution with Dolby surround soundtrack.
As residential deployment of broadband access to the Internet increases, more consumers may want to access movies via the Internet for viewing in their homes. This new access pattern has the potential of increasing traffic on the Internet to very high and unacceptable levels. Once large content, i.e., greater than 10 MB, can be vended to consumers in a manner that makes them feel comfortable in its use, more large digital content will be authored and vended in a similar manner. Such a drastic change in the use of the Internet requires deployment of a new infrastructure needed to keep up with the demand. Because of the substantial change in their usage patterns, consumers can easily be charged for such usage and, therefore, the new infrastructure and industry to support the usage can be funded. The present invention is directed, in part, to an infrastructure that can accommodate the demand for vending large digital content to consumers over the Internet.
Currently, large content is downloaded in parcels and reassembled at the consumer sites. Because of the lack of a sufficient vending infrastructure, most of this digital content is “pirated”. The entire process is essentially manual and fraught with trouble. The present invention is further directed to a technique that enables Internet access to digital movie content without compromising the intellectual property rights of owners of that content. In particular, the present invention is directed to a system that transparently facilitates access and payment for intellectual property, such as copyrighted digital content, and that complies with a model of registration, download and use.